Urgent appeal to support Wat Phra Dhammakaya temple in Thailand

21 July 2017: To the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

Your Excellency,

According to Gen. Prayut Chan-ocha, the head of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) using Article 44 of the interim Constitution, the temporary order no.5/2560,set the temple to control Wat Phra Dhammakaya Temple. People and monks were not allowed to enter the monastery. With food control, including the interception of communications, I see that such actions of the government in addition to no power. The government is clearly violating human rights. (1) This case, the person allegedly committing the offense under the law, Former Abbot of Wat Phra Dhammakaya Temple, Most Venerable Dhammajayo Bhikkhu, It was personally charged with money laundering and robbery. It is a process to track the arrest of the accused, who must follow the Code of Criminal Procedure as well as other cases. Therefore, the issuance of the order 5/2560 is discrimination because only this case has used the power of the revolutionary leader to pursue the arrest of the accused. While other cases, several thousand cases that still arrest the accused have not returned, never issued such a statement before. Such a statement is contrary to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 7 (2) Wat Phra Dhammakaya Temple of Thailand is a legal entity. The temple was not accused of committing the offense.

The Thai junta government has no power to issue orders or impose any measures. That affects the innocent people, who have no relevance. Therefore, the government issued a decree requiring Wat Phra Dhammakaya Temple to be controlled. The public and the clergy were forbidden including communication interrupt. It is not just a measure used to arrest the accused. It is a matter for the government to eliminate the Wat Phra Dhammakaya Temple because it believes that the teachings of the temple are contrary to the government's approach to be. The government's actions limit the freedom of the people to believe or obey their beliefs, contrary to Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. (3) In addition, the Thai junta government has issued a statement to the people and the holy monks. If not, it is considered guilty of imprisonment. It also restricted the freedom of expression by charging and prosecuting monks and people who opposed the government in this regard. Including measures, the use of all over, such as cutting off the communication, controlling not to bring foodinto the temple causes innocent Buddhist monks food shortage. Or other measures, this is a violation of Article 5, Article 9 and Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. (4) What the Thai junta government does with the Wat Phra Dhammakaya Temple is not compliance with internal law. But it is a violation of human rights that is inherent in all human beings that must be respected without choosing the caste, ethnicity or religion.

Violation of these rights is a violation of international obligations in Thailand and must be complied with. In particular, the power of the state to deal with such cases is the power of the Thai junta government, the revolutionary government who seize power from the people, used thousands of officers to carry out single person arrest missions with no charge on state security. Human rights abuses have occurred since the issuance of the order, compliance and how to use the command. The affected person is the temple, Buddhist monks and innocent people who are bare hands cannot resist the barbaric state of power. Since this junta government came to power by seize power from the people, there is a record violation of human rights. Innocent people are unavoidably affected. We who are innocent cannot fight alone.

May we jointly defended their rights by calling on the Thai Junta government to stop abuses of human rights and respecting and fulfilling the international obligations that Thailand is bound to abide by.

On behalf ofall Buddhist Citizens of Australia, the Confederation of Human Rights Lawyers and Justiceof Peace, All the Buddhist monks of Wat Phra Dhammakaya Temple, The Buddhist relatives who relinquished their property to build a temple and the owner of Wat Dhammakaya Temple, Patum Thani of Thailand, Buddhist monks all over the world who use the temple of Wat Phra Dhammakaya to perform holy Buddhist rituals everyday.